英语听书《白鲸记》第145期

 "Aye, aye," said Stubb, the second mate, "Starbuck, there, is as careful a man as you'll find anywhere in this fishery."  “啊，像斯达巴克这样的细心人，在捕鲸业中可以说是屡见不鲜的。”这是二副斯塔布的评论。 

But we shall ere long see what that word "careful" precisely¹ means when used by a man like Stubb, or almost any other whale hunter. 很快，我们就可以看到发表这样的评论的人和他所谓“细心”在捕鲸业中的真面目了。 

Starbuck was no crusader after perils²; in him courage was not a sentiment; but a thing simply useful to him, and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions.  斯达巴克并非莽撞的十字军骑士，他认为勇敢主要的不是一种感情色彩，而只是在迫不得已的情况下，他从自己的身上召唤而来的一种行动的力量。 

Besides, he thought, perhaps, that in this business of whaling, courage was one of the great staple³ outfits⁴ of the ship, like her beef and her bread, and not to be foolishly wasted.  和船上的淡水、面包之类的东西一样，勇敢也是一种必备品，不可随意浪费。

Wherefore he had no fancy for lowering for whales after sun-down; nor for persisting in fighting a fish that too much persisted in fighting him.  落日西沉以后，他从不下海、打鲸鱼和普通的鱼他都不干，他认为没有任何必要做无谓的牺牲。 

For, thought Starbuck, I am here in this critical ocean to kill whales for my living, and not to be killed by them for theirs; and that hundreds of men had been so killed Starbuck well knew.  人们打鲸鱼是为了自己的生活，如果让鲸鱼给“打”了，岂不是反而成了满足鲸鱼的生活要求的食物了吗？

What doom⁵ was his own father's? Where, in the bottomless deeps, could he find the torn limbs of his brother? 他父亲和他兄弟在冰冷黑暗的大洋中的命运是他永远不能忘记的。 

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

3 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

4 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

5 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。